The Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) imposes a 15.3% tax on wages earned by self-employed people. Many self-employed business owners employ a popular tax saving device and pay themselves a "reasonable" wage and receive the rest of the profit as a dividend. The dividends are exempt from the SECA tax while the wages are not. (Keep in mind the dividends and wages are subject to the income tax at the individual's regular rate).
Lawmakers are fully aware of this and have attempted to impose a SECA tax that will hit all profits of service firms, including accounting, law, health, engineering, architecture, investment management, brokerage, and consulting firms.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has pushed hard to strike this measure, and as a result it may not become law.
We will just have to wait and see.
Sources: The Kiplinger Tax Leter, Vol. 85, No. 11, May 28, 2010
